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Water is life. We can’t exist without it. Water is essential for our bodies’ health and the health of our environment. The primordial soup that made all of life, came from water.

Every day we should be drinking about half of your body weight in ounces of water or nutrient-dense beverages. Averages are 2.2 liters of water for women and 3 liters of water for men. If you don't know or don't think you are coming close to that consumption, carry a water bottle wherever you go and start tracking you're intake. You'll find that you just drink more when you have it with you anyway.

Water composition in our bodies:

babies 80-90%

adults 60-65%

brains & hearts 70-75%

lungs 80-85%

skin 65%

muscles & kidneys 75-80%

bones 30%

Water performs many roles in every cell of our bodies.

exchange of nutrients in blood and cellular fluids

building new materials

regulating body temperature

metabolizing carbohydrates and proteins

flush toxins and waste through urination and elimination

shock absorption in joints, brain, spinal cord, and amniotic fluid

in saliva transport minerals to remineralize teeth and enzymes to break down food

Water levels in our bodies are constantly changing along with levels of water-soluble nutrients, including the B vitamins and vitamin C, as our bodies try to maintain homeostasis. Results from water-based health tests like blood and urine tests will vary greatly depending on our water levels in that moment. A test that is not water-based like the Hair Mineral Analysis test will give nutrient level results based on a longer period of time, about 3-4 months.

In the U.S. our drinking water comes from one of about 160,000 public water systems that are governed by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The EPA created the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish safe drinking water standards. Some people in the U.S. have private well water systems, and those are not governed by the EPA and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The EPA requires that tap water is purified and tested for contaminants in these six categories:

microorganisms - bacteria, viruses, protozoa like giardia

disinfectants - chlorine, chloramine

disinfectant byproducts - bromates, chlorates

inorganic chemicals - arsenic, cadmium, asbestos, fluoride. Drinking fluoride in water does not impact our dental health in the same way as fluoride treatments. Fluoride is not supposed to be swallowed. It disrupts endocrine function, leading to thyroid and adrenal issues.

organic chemicals - lead, mercury, nitrates, nitrites

radionuclides - radium, uranium

Other factors that affect our water quality and resources include:

drought

lead and toxins from pipes or transit system

natural gas fracking / oil drilling / mining / manufacturing

CDC published outbreaks in 150,000 public water systems

people putting things back in

antibiotics

harsh cleaners

pharmaceuticals

washing toxic things off body

farming runoff: pesticides, herbicides, waste from animals

It is important to drink and bathe in high quality water. Do not use bottled water. Most of the time bottled water is bottled in plastic which has petrochemicals that leach into the water and the bottles create literal tons of waste in the environment. This plastic waste doesn't break down organically and is reaping havoc not only on human health, but on plant and animal life, causing mass extinction for many species.

Brita / Pur - These are not the most recommended systems because they have a lot of plastics involved as well as don't remove all of the toxins that we are hoping to. Might be applicable however depending on what kind of water you have coming from your tap.

Keep in mind, Reverse Osmosis filters strip water of harmful toxins as well as beneficial minerals creating distilled water. We need minerals in our water to make it usable for our bodies. If you use a reverse osmosis filter, please add polar minerals back into your water.

AVOID: pasteurized juices, soda pop, coffee, alcohol, caffeine - These are depleting and hinder homeostasis and are just not good sources for water consumption

MamaKai's "Swamp" Water Recipe

Many mornings I make 1 quart of what I call "Swamp" water and drink it throughout the day. This is not the only water/nutrient-dense beverage I'm drinking, but it's a great part of making sure that I'm getting added nutrients into my diet and giving me little bits of those nutrients throughout the day in a very absorbable way.

I'm not one to recommend loads of supplements, but because many of us are "healing" our bodies we need more components to do that on top of simple maintenance.

Depending on what's going on with us personally we may adjust what's in our "Swamp" water. This is the recipe that I use daily and is fantastic for any woman who's pregnant or is breastfeeding.

MamaKai offers these private supplements as a nutrition consultant, please contact me directly to discuss what you might have in your "Swamp" water based on what your overall health goals are and we can get you the right recipe and the supplements ordered so you have them on hand.

1/2 cup fresh unpasteurized juice or blended fruit of choice (citrus or berries are a great start) - optional

Place all ingredients in the bottom of a clean glass quart sized container (mason jar, reused bottle). Finish filling with filtered water. Place lid on top and shake well. Take with you wherever you go, shake often before sipping on. Finish 1 whole "Swamp" water each day in addition to the remaining water/nutrient-dense beverage consumption you should be intaking based on your weight (1/2 body weight in ounces... example... I am 120 pounds, I drink 60 ounces a day... 1 quart = 32 ounces).